Excerpt from June 30, 2017 Journal (Atlas Mountains)
After such a fun day yesterday, we are excited for today. We woke up and had breakfast at the ryad (a traditional Moroccan house). The chefs provided a lot of gluten free food for my dad and I everyday. We had cookies, bread, eggs, etc. After a great breakfast, we asked to bring water to go. Larson, our waiter, was holding two waters. My mom went to grab them and he said “no, no, no.” He then handed them to my dad to take. I thought this was pretty funny. A driver from our tour picked us up and we drove into the Atlas Mountains. There, we stopped at a Berber Market. The market had sheep and goats that were being traded for goods, donkeys ready to haul back the goods, meat, fruits, vegetables, barbers, doctors, and dentists. The thing that I found most interesting was that the barbers cut hair AND pulled teeth. They were situated on dirt flooring, a VERY clean environment for medical purposes. After the market, we headed towards the camels. We were all nervous to ride a camel. We had no idea of what it was like, so we’re all worried. When we pulled up to the camels, Michael (my brother) was the first to get out of the car. Before my mom was even out of the car, Michael was already on a camel. I was next, followed by my dad and then mom. My mom was extremely worried when it was her turn. To make it even worse, her camel started rolling on its side. She was positive the camel did not want to work that day. She did however get up on a camel, even though she was still nervous. My camel was extremely close to the edge of the cliff, which frightened me. I kept asking to move over but nothing changed. A few minutes later, the guide stopped us all and called his boss from where we got on. He came rushing down on a motorcycle, which frightened us even more. Our guide wasn’t telling us what was wrong. He kept pointing at my dad but not talking. It turned out that his saddle was loose. He had to get off of his camel to fix it. My dad’s camel started yelling when he had to get back on. It was hard because the camels are so tall. We were all tied together, therefore, if his camel gets down, everyone else’s gets down. I started crying because his camel was so loud and scary. We continued the ride even though we were more nervous than before. My mom was also scared because she had to hold the rope of the camels while the guide grabbed the camera from my dad in the back. She continued to tell him that he should stay. Once he convinced her it was okay and she calmed down, she said that the camel wanted him. Lol. She was freaking out when the camel was turning its long neck. We did end up enjoying some parts of the ride. We rode through beautiful parts of the mountains and it was a really neat experience. Getting off of the camel was scary because it gets down front legs first. It feels like you are falling off the front. After the camel ride, we got back in the car and drove through some of the rural communities in Morocco. We learned the schools are boarding schools and the kids spend the week at school and come home on the weekends. I thought this was interesting because it is so different from the school I am used to. We continued to drive and saw village after village. It was interesting to see how complete opposites they are from home. We stopped to meet and give children gifts we had brought. Their faces lit up with the simplest things, like socks. I enjoyed seeing all of the kids running up and down the hills having smiles on their faces the whole time. I love the fact that people are so happy with so little. At home, people with so much complain because they don’t have enough. After seeing villages, we stopped at a facility where argan oil and products are made. Women there are employed because they don’t have a man to help support them. They can earn income while staying busy working. We bought products there to help support them (side note – we still use the argan oil today in 2020!!) After we visited the local women making argan oil, we went by the river to take pictures and see the view. There were restaurants up and down in the water. Kids were splashing all around too. It was tempting to jump in, but I didn’t. We had lunch overlooking the mountains at a family’s home. It was beautiful and delicious. After a wonderful and much needed lunch, we headed back home. We stopped for many pictures along the cliff, waving at the kids as we passed. Overall, the tour was definitely something I will remember for a long time. Once we got back, we were all exhausted and tired. We went out to dinner with a family staying at our ryad and had a great time. Of most importance, today was the first time my dad let me pet a stray cat!
